Taking a well deserved but admittedly commercially risky breather from his usual brand of
smooth jazz,
Tim Weisberg's second Fahrenheit Records release, Undercover, chronicles his longtime musical partnership and friendship with pianist
David Benoit, drawing upon their mutual love for
jazz,
pop and
classical muses like
Herbie Mann,
Henry Mancini,
Van Morrison,
Gershwin, even
Debussy -- all of whom inspired them to become musicians in the first place. The result of this mostly first- and second-take labor of love -- on which the label afforded them full creative freedom from radio play list requirements -- plays like an intimate, unplugged free-spirited club date where both
Weisberg and
Benoit check their accolades and trademark sounds at the door and just jam for the hell of it. Backed by the relentless grooving of bassist
Ken Wild, drummer
John Ferraro and percussionist
Brad Dutz, the two seem to have the most fun paying homage to
Weisberg's hero
Mann on Undercover's lone original track, the
latin-percussion flavored shuffle "Herbie's Blues" (whose thick organ vamp conjures memories of "The Sidewinder"); "Viva Tirado," a
Gerald Wilson Big Band number with
Benoit's
Doors-like Hammond B-3 pounding; and the sensuous, bass-propelled "Comin' Home Baby," from
Mann's Live at the Village Gate, featuring some no holds barred, '60s-flavored flute and Fender Rhodes harmonizing.
Weisberg fans who feel his
pop efforts sell his improvisational abilities short will snap out of their funks as he aggressively keeps up with
Kenny Rankin's jaunty
scat and a
jazz trio effect on "Moondance," as well as the hardcore
fusion style of "Ballad of the Whales," from the Star Trek IV soundtrack, co-penned by
Russell Ferrante.
Weisberg and
Benoit also acknowledge their individual careers with blasts from the
smooth jazz past, most notably a flute-led rendering of the pianist's elegant radio staple "Kei's Song." ~ Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
